Co-administration of DNA encoding co-stimulatory molecules enhances the efficacy of immune response to foreign antigen

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Vaccines to prevent or treat infectious diseases and some cancers are urgently needed. Infected cells and some cancer cells display unique proteins which the body's immune system can recognises as 'foreign'. The body will then mount an immune response, which, if successful, will eradicate the infected or cancerous cells. Dendritic cells (DCs) initiate the body's immune response by instructing other immune cells to mount a response. For a vaccine to be successful it is important that the vaccine activates the DCs in the right way. We propose to activate DCs by vaccinating with DNA encoding recently identified costimulatory molecules, as well as DNA encoding the foreign antigen. Our earlier work leads us to believe that this will enhance the immune response, and lead to a more effective state of immunity